Clip for supporting an ornament on an ear



March 29, 1955 J. D. WAGGONER EI'AL CLIP FOR SUPPORTING AN ORNAMENT ON AN EAR Filed March 13, 1953 INVENTORS JUL/U5 o. WflGGOUE 1%4554 446604152 BY A 7' TOR/VEYS United States Patent CLIP FOR SUPPORTING AN ORNAMENT ON AN EAR Julius D. Waggoner and Mabel I. Waggoner, Culver City, Calif.

Application March 13, 1953, Serial No. 342,126

1 Claim. (Cl. 24-260) This invention relates to a clip for supporting an ornament on an ear and has for its primary object to simplify the construction of such items.

Another object is to securely fasten the ornament to the ear in such a manner that the weight of the ornament will serve to cause the clip to grip the ear lobe so that the greater the weight of the ornament, the greater will be the gripping effect of the clip on the ear lobe.

The above and other objects may be attained by employing this invention which embodies among its features a pair of converging legs, a bight portion carried by and extending between said legs adjacent their divergent ends, a guide carried by one of the legs and extending longitudinally therefrom adjacent the other leg, and an ear lobe engaging clamp mounted on the guide to move thereon in a rectilinear path which approaches the other leg as it recedes from the bight portion whereby when the clip is placed on the ear, the lobe projecting between the clamp and the other leg of the clip will be gripped therebetween to securely hold the clip in place.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a side view of an ear ornament supporting clip embodying the features of this invention,

Figure 2 is an edge view of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a plan view of Figure 1, and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view illustrating a modified form of ear lobe engaging clamp.

Referring to the drawings in detail, this improved clip designated generally comprises a pair of converging legs 12 and 14 which are joined at their divergent ends by a bight portion 16 from which a pendant type of ear ornament may be suspended. As illustrated in Figure l, the leg 12 curves inwardly as it recedes from the bight portion and is provided adjacent its end remote from the bight portion with an outwardly curved ear lobe engaging member or cushion 18. When a button type ornament is employed, it is supported on the leg 12 substantially as illustrated in broken lines in Figure 1 in any suitable manner.

Carried by the leg 14 and extending longitudinally therefrom adjacent the end thereof remote from the bight portion 16 is a guide rod 20 carrying adjacent its end remote from the bight portion 16 a lateral extension 22 forming a stop, the purpose of which will hereinafter appear.

Mounted for longitudinal sliding movement on the guide rod 20 in a rectilinear path which approaches the ear lobe engaging member 18 is an ear lobe engaging clamp 24 which in the preferred form of the invention may constitute a sphere having an opening extending therethrough for the reception of the guide rod 20.

In the modified form of the invention illustrated in Figure 4, a guide rod 20' conforming in all respects to that previously described and carried by a leg of a clip such as previously described has mounted thereon an ear lobe engaging clamp 26 which is preferably in the form of a truncated cone having an axial opening extending therethrough for the reception of the guide rod and the function of which is identical with that of the clamp 24 previously described.

In use with the parts assembled as illustrated in Figure l, the clip 10 carrying a selected type of ear ornament is slipped over the lobe of the ear with the member 18 engaging the outer side of the ear lobe and upward pressure is then exerted on the clamp 24 to move it in its rectilinear path longitudinally on the guide rod 20 until it is substantially opposite the ear lobe engaging member 18 and bears on the inner side of the ear lobe to frictionally support the clip in place. Obviously, downward pull on the clip will tend to move the clamp 24 in its rectilinear path away from the bight portion 16 and closer to the ear lobe engaging member 18 to more firmly clamp the clip to the ear. The stop 22 will prevent complete removal of the clamp 24 from the guide rod 20 and possible loss.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:

A clip for supporting an ornament on an ear comprising a pair of converging legs and a bight portion carried by and extending between said legs adjacent their divergent ends, a guide of reduced diameter carried by and extending longitudinally from one of said legs along the axis thereof in spaced relation to the other leg, an ear lobe engaging member carried by the leg remote from the guide, an ear lobe engaging clamping member mounted on the guide for movement in a rectilinear path which approaches the ear lobe engaging member as it recedes from the bight portion, and a stop carried by the guide and extending outwardly therefrom adjacent the end thereof remote from the bight portion for arresting movement of the clamp away from the bight portion when it lies adjacent the ear lobe engaging member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 426,451 Johnson Apr. 29, 1890 870,330 Wilde Nov. 5, 1907 1,106,388 Juergens Aug. 11, 1914 1,992,643 Vidal Feb. 26, 1935 2,129,455 Wisehart Sept. 6, 1938 2,427,479 Shatkin Sept. 16, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,050 Great Britain of 1912 1,020,605 France Nov. 19, 1952 

